Room of Memories
by Servant of Anubis
Summary: Oneshot. Being the Head of the House, you're afforded certain privileges. Access to special rooms and information.


I wrote this a while ago but only recently have I actually decided that it might be decent enough to post. It's slightly scatter-brained, but I get the impression that's how Akito thinks. There are light attempts at humor but not enough to put it in that category. Enjoy.

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A flashlight beam cuts its way through the darkness as I unlock the door to the storeroom. There are no lights in here; it was one of the original buildings of the Sohma estate and it's never been renovated. That would require too many people knowing about it.

This room is strictly forbidden to everyone but me. There is only one key to this place; it's been passed down, like so many other things in this family, through the generations, from one Head of the House to the next.

Diamond-shaped recesses cover two walls of the small room like honeycombs, each one filled with a scroll. Shelves sagging with the weight of books line the third wall and the wall in the very back has a low table in front of it. I walk in and close the door behind me.

I peer at the fading ink labels for a moment before selecting a scroll and bringing it to the table. Every book and scroll in this room was written by a former Head of the House. They're like journals, containing personal thoughts, philosophies, revelations, daily events, and such. But some hold more than that. Some have within their pages information that a few people, like Isuzu, would kill for: facts about the curse, how it happened exactly, why the Sohmas carry it, and the like. Some even contain theories, suggestions, on how it could be broken.

Most of them, however, are just interesting to read, a glimpse into the past. All of them have things about the Juunishi, random little things that the Heads of the House noticed. For instance, the scroll I'm looking at now recalls how a Dog by the name of Shiromono would dig up flowers beds as a child. Once I read, from a book only a few decades old, about a Tiger who'd prowl the forests at night, hunting small game. One book recalls the year when all the old cross-country records at the high school were broken by a Horse, and all the sprinting records by a Rabbit. It's amusing really; I know more about the Juunishi than they do.

I slide the scroll back into place and find a favorite of mine. It was written by the third Head of the House, back during a time when daimyo would war against each other for land, honor, and wealth. The Head of the House, a man by the name of Nakamura, wrote of a war against the Family, that some foolish daimyo was jealous of us and wanted our land. During the turning point of the war, Nakamura was taken hostage. The Dragon, Igurashi, was enraged when he heard of it and transform, not into a seahorse, but a great dragon. He laid waste to the apposing army and saved Nakamura. Igurashi never transformed into a dragon again, and for a long time people spoke of how the Sohmas were favored by the gods. When I first read it I thought that Nakamura was lying. I cross-referenced both old legends and records from the war, and everything agreed that a dragon appeared to help the Sohmas, so I have to conclude that Nakamura was telling the truth. From what I gather, the Dragon will actually transform into one only if the Head of the House's life is in grave danger. I wonder what Hatori would say if he knew what he was capable of.

Enough reading, I have work to do. Returning the scrolls, I take my own book out and open it to the next blank page. I've nothing really interesting to add right now, just a reminder that I'm still writing. Other entrees have been more amusing, like the one about how Shigure failed his swimming course at school because all he could manage was doggy-paddling, while Hatori passed with flying colors. Or why the reason Momiji eats so much candy: we used it to bribe him off grass. Those were all written with my childish scrawl, barely legible. I was sick so often as a child (not that I'm less sick now, of course) that it took me a while to develop descent motor skills; my handwriting's still a little sloppy.

I mark the date, the poor glow of the flash light making me wish I had brought something brighter. Then I bring to write.

Word reached me that Yuki and Kyo went to the movies with that Tohru girl today; for the umpteenth time I mention how I don't think she can help. Just like Kana couldn't. They're both useless.

I woke up from a nap earlier to find Shigure sitting over me, staring. It was slightly disturbing; I wish he wouldn't do that.

Just small, unimportant things. I shut the book and return it to the shelf. It's thin, like all the other books. After all, the Heads of the House, well… We're never around long enough to write very much. I leave, locking the door behind me, locking away from prying eyes the very knowledge that could be used to save us.

Of course, I'd die before I let someone take my Juunishi away from me.

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Nothing incredibly witty to say. Tell me what you think.


End file.
